7 x 7 x 7 x 7
“For it turns out that the most significant connections between language, culture, and thought are to be found where they are least expected, in those places where healthy common sense would suggest that all cultures and all languages should be exactly the same.”
Professor Deutscher’s statement jumped out of the monotonous drone even as he continued to yammer on. Niyati, the girl whose presence occupied my every waking moment — and most of my sleeping ones — sat one row down and to my right, where I could only see her profile, today. I had meticulously learned how to properly pronounce a few phrases in Tamil, and thanks to the professor, today was the day that I would finally–
“Mr. Metzger, if you would kindly stop staring at Miss Vishwakarma for a moment, perhaps you could favor the class with the answer to my question?”
I slumped down in my seat as all eyes in the class turned to me, but I only saw one pair. They were flashing in anger.
What is the 7x7x7x7 Writing Prompt?
- Grab the 7th book from your bookshelf.
- Open it up to page 7.
- Pinpoint the 7th sentence on the page.
- Begin a poem / a piece of prose that begins with that sentence
- Limit it in length to 7 lines / 7 sentences.
The first sentence, in italics, is taken from Through the Language Glass: When the World Looks Different in Other Languages” by Guy Deutscher.
Gary Henderson
Gary Henderson is an amateur author who lives in the Greater Atlanta Metropolitan Area with a chef housemate. By day he is a mild-mannered software developer working for a major health-care company. By night and on weekends, he occasionally creates and destroys worlds.
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4 Comments
Talya Tate Boerner
I love it! Great job.
Gary Henderson
Thanks, Talya! As soon as I realized that all the books on the “shelf” nearest me (my piano) were “scholarly,” I was afraid. But this one just jumped into my head.
Suzy
Nicely done – a difficult line to start with but you did great. Perhaps Niyati will smile someday!
Dropping by from the 7x7x7x7 linkup
Suzy http://suzysomedaysomewhere.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/write-tribe-7x7x7x7.html
Gary Henderson
Thank you, Suzy! I was a little dismayed when I saw that line. :) I think she might, but he has a long, uphill battle. I hope one of the phrases he learned in Tamil was “I’m sorry for being a stalker.”